


Not Alone

by randomwriter57



Series: Reigisa Week 2017 [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Getting Together, M/M, Writing on Skin, but not quite so introspective, except for the whole soulmate thing obvs, kind of also a, like as in anything you write on yourself shows up on your soulmate and vice versa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-18 00:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9356537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomwriter57/pseuds/randomwriter57
Summary: The only thing Nagisa knows about his soulmate is that they are mysterious.In other words, Nagisa knows nothing about his soulmate and that frustrates him to no end.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Reigisa Week 2017](http://reigisaweek.tumblr.com), Day Two: Soulmates.

The only thing Nagisa knows about his soulmate is that they are mysterious.

In other words, Nagisa knows nothing about his soulmate and that frustrates him to no end.

They don’t talk much, at least not to him. Countless times in the day he’ll find himself glancing over at his arms, hoping for something to show up on them, _anything_ , even an accidental pen stroke. But his soulmate must take care not to let anything mar his skin, because every time Nagisa’s search comes up blank.

It isn’t for lack of effort on Nagisa’s part, of course. He’s tried so many things over the years - laying out pen-and-paper games on his hands and doodling hearts around his freckles. Still, his soulmate didn’t reply. He knows that his soulmate is there, that they see his attempts. Once, Nagisa even had to watch as his soulmate scrubbed away a series of meticulously-penned numbers spanning the length of his arm. He didn’t try to give his soulmate his phone number again, after that.

Now, Nagisa loves the idea of soulmates. He’s always loved things which are fated, destined to be. Having friends who all have names which, like his own, are typically given to people of the opposite gender is one example of this. After all, it can’t be a coincidence. It must be fate. And the fact that whatever semi-permanent things he puts on his skin show up on someone else is fate, too. Everyone has been saying it for years. To have such an intrinsic connection must mean something important for their relationship, right?

But when his soulmate doesn’t even try to make contact with him, he can’t help but feel disappointed. It isn’t that he’s being overly pushy, he thinks. He doesn’t mind if his soulmate wants to be friends rather than lovers. But having his soulmate ignore him _completely_ …

It’s worst in middle school, when he feels most alone. Haru and Makoto don’t swim anymore, and Rin hasn’t replied to his letters in over a year. The few friends he made at the swim club in his last year of elementary school go to a different school now, and Nagisa’s parents won’t let him swim anymore.

In class, he finds himself drawing on his arms. A few times he tries to write to his soulmate, and gets no reply. So he sticks to doodling, mostly spirals and stars but sometimes birds and penguins and butterflies. He draws smiley faces on the tips of his fingers and hopes his soulmate thinks he’s happy. Not that they’re worried about him. If they were, they could at least contact him.

By the end of his middle school years, Nagisa is determined to put his past behind him. These days, his arms are ink-free, and he focuses his efforts on persuading his parents to let him attend Iwatobi High, to let him be with his friends again. Thankfully, it works.

When Nagisa finds Haru and Makoto again, it’s still spring, and their arms are covered by black blazers and long-sleeved shirts. There isn’t a mark on either of their hands, though, and Nagisa wonders for a moment if their soulmates are as silent as Nagisa’s is, or if they even have soulmates. As much as he wants it to be, the thought isn’t comforting.

Now, at least, he has the swim club to focus on. Once again he can dive into his passions, and so long as they find a fourth member for their team, they might even rediscover the amazing sights from their past.

That fourth member turns out to be Ryugazaki Rei. He isn’t what Nagisa expects him to be, underneath his protests and beautiful pole-vaulting abilities. When Nagisa finds his way under Rei’s skin, he finds a nerdy, ridiculous boy who might understand Nagisa’s loneliness. Maybe that’s why Nagisa feels an indescribable pull towards him, even after he refuses to join the swim team the first time.

Rei is attractive. Undeniably so. In the summer, Nagisa doesn’t shy away from admiring his toned arms, the smooth sweep of skin from forearm to fingertips, unmarked. Part of Nagisa, an irrational beast he tries to ignore, hopes that if something managed to mark Rei’s skin, it would appear on Nagisa, too.

Then he casts those thoughts away, because that would mean Rei’s been ignoring him for _years_ and that would be unbearable in itself.

Somehow, he makes it all the way to his second year at Iwatobi High without any contact with his soulmate, and without seeing any contact on Rei’s skin, either. Nagisa is starting to wonder, at this point, if his entire friendship group is fated to have silent soulmates. But then he remembers the sprawling conversations on Rin’s arms and the doodles curling around Gou’s wrists, and realises it might be their luck, or lack of it.

It’s only after their summer break, when the smell of chlorine on their skin has died down and competition season is past its end, when it finally happens. In all respects, the class itself is less than interesting. Nagisa struggles to concentrate through it. Still, he manages to make semi-clear notes, then jots down a note-to-self on the back of his hand without thinking much of it. _Ask Rei-chan to borrow his notes later!!_

He hears an intake of breath from the seat in front of him.

Looking up, Nagisa sees Rei looking down at his hand, his pen abandoned on top of his workbook. He can’t make out what about it he’s so surprised by, but he can make a guess.

If Rei got a message from his soulmate at the same time as Nagisa wrote that note, though, then there’s a possibility…

Too invested in this to pay attention to whatever the teacher’s saying, he raises his pen to the back of his neck, trying to look like he’s scratching an itch as he lets the pen glide over the nape of his neck.

In front of his eyes, unhidden by his prim posture, a line forms on the back of Rei’s neck.

This time, Nagisa gasps.

When he catches himself, he notices Rei writing something down and looks back to his notes, mind still circling with the idea that _Rei is actually his soulmate_. Then he sees his hand.

Beside his earlier note-to-self are words in a neat, slanted script which Nagisa definitely didn't write, especially since he can’t pull off such neat handwriting.

_Shouldn’t you be taking your own notes?_

The teacher dismisses the class, which erupts in noise around them, chairs scraping against the linoleum floor and voices chattering loudly. Still, Nagisa knows Rei hears his reply when his already straight back stiffens.

“I did take my own notes.”

A moment passes before Rei turns to face him, eyes sticking firmly to Nagisa’s face rather than his hands. “Then why do you want to borrow my notes?”

Part of Nagisa can’t believe Rei isn’t making more of this event, or even that he himself is being so calm about it. It’s such a momentous shift in their dynamic, and yet it’s not unwelcome, at least not to Nagisa.

“Rei-chan,” he says, mostly a breath. Then he smiles to himself. “You’ve got something on your face.”

“Have I?” Rei’s eyes widen and he raises a hand to his face, the one with the writing on it, _Nagisa’s_ writing.

“Let me get it,” Nagisa says, leaning forward. Somehow, Rei doesn’t notice the pen in his hand until it touches his cheek, penning a quick heart on his cheekbone.

“ _Nagisa-kun_ ,” Rei says, half annoyed, but Nagisa notices the way his eyes brighten seeing the heart copy itself onto Nagisa’s cheek.

Leaning back, Nagisa laughs, his joy finally spilling from him. “Well, there’s something there now!”

Despite himself, Rei’s lips curl into a smile too.

Later, Nagisa will interrogate Rei about why he didn’t respond to Nagisa for all these years. They’ll finally talk about what they want to be to each other. But for now, they find joy in the fact that, for the first time in their lives, neither of them feel so alone anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me at [randomactuallywrites-57](http://randomactuallywrites-57.tumblr.com) on tumblr | [@randomwriter57](http://twitter.com/randomwriter57) on twitter!


End file.
